Amazon Kindle DX Unveiled at $489

As expected, rumored, and already hashed about, Amazon unveiled the Kindle DX today saying that the Kindle is now a family of devices and that “wireless reading just got bigger.” It also stays a bit on the pricey side as the new Kindle DX 2 will cost you $489.

Jeff Bezos took the wraps off the devcie and the features being touted include auto-rotation, native PDF reading, and a promise that you won’t have to pan, zoom, or scroll. The Kindle DX will carry up to 3500 books on 3.3 GB of storage. Wireless connectivity will still be the same over Sprint’s service. As of the moment none of the new features (PDF support) have been announced for the already released Kindle 2 and the pricing for the Kindle 2 will for the moment remain the same.

As speculated the devcie is also being targeted towards textbooks with five universities () sigining on for this fall. Newspapers are also getting to the action on the larger device with some sort of unspecfiied subsidy offered for the device in return for a unspecified long-term subscription. The NY Times publisher mentioned in his remarks that this would be available in areas where the NY Times is not available for home delivery. So I think there is still some sussing out to be done on what that actually means.

An interesting and humorous note from following the press coverage on line. Apparently the images being shown on the live screen got reversed somehow and Jeff Bezos, showing some grace under pressure said “I’m going to choose to find this hilarious” and kept things moving along until the faux pas was corrected.

The Kindle DX is now available for pre-order and is due to start shipping this summer. From what I’m reading there are still some details to be learned and I’m sure we’ll here more as the days roll on. But the lack of details tells me that this may have been a pre-emptive PR move to get out in front of other things from other companies coming down the pike. Who knows.

All of that said, I think the price is on the high side, but that’s my opinion and we’ll have to see how it all shapes up in the days ahead.

7 Comments

mobileman

Totally agree with you mobileman. Even as a “student textbook reading/carrying” device it is still expensive as most online textbook subscriptions give only 6 months access to the books, for only half the price of a physical textbook. I’ll keep my tablet and scanner with me thank you.

$489 is definitely on the high side, but I have to admit it has a couple of advantages compared to a tablet if you need to read for hours on end. The Whispernet service and long battery life continue to be the Kindle’s killer features in my opinion. I just don’t read enough books to justify $489 for a device that I will rarely use.

@Xavier… Perhaps it will make sense for medical students/doctors, and law students/lawyers or judges. And perhaps older people who tend to read for hours on end and are not satisfied with a device as small as the Kindle 2? It will be fascinating to see because the DX is too big to fit in the average ladies purse, and that will turn off many older ladies who don’t carry traveling bags as purses.

SAM

Mike

05/08/2009 at 3:04 am

@Sam

There are two main features. 1. Is the e-ink display. 2. Is the free online connectivity.

1. E-ink is much easier on the eyes. It really does look like printed paper, not completely but really really close. Seeing pictures on a computer screen does not give you a good impression of what it looks like in your hands. Reading on a computer screen will tire your eyes much faster because of the backlight, this is the biggest reason why this device is better for reading. Also, a tablet pc will weight at least 3.5 pounds. I’m not sure how much this device weighs, but I can’t imagine it weighing more than half a pound. I have a 3.5lb tablet and it’s not comfortable reading on it, simply too heavy.

2. This thing has a constant internet connection that you don’t pay extra for, already included in the price of the device. The web browser is very very basic, but mobile sites that are mostly text work well as does wikipedia. Basically, you have wikipedia anywhere you are. You can also download books anywhere the spring ev-do connection works. I have no idea how much this adds to the price of the device, but I imagine it is significant.